Be My Salvation (Ereri/Riren)

XXIV

Eren didn't watch Levi leave. He wasn't there to send him off the next morning, the day before the semester at DAU started. He'd slept in the sunroom (though 'slept' was used loosely; it was more along the lines of drifting in and out of that state just before falling asleep). He was woken by Petra, who was seemingly oblivious to their fight, letting him know she would be leaving with Levi shortly and then was the time to say goodbye if he wanted.

"He's already leaving?" he mumbled, waking up pretty quickly at this news.

The woman nodded. "He didn't tell you? He decided to take the spot at DAU that opened up and the semester starts tomorrow, so he has to leave today."

No, Levi hadn't told him. Neither of them had said a word to each other since the argument, and Eren had already assumed the result of said argument was his decision to go to the school that was further away, but he hadn't known the semester started so soon. He had no idea he wouldn't even have time to...

He'd stopped the thought short, though, and looked away from Petra, remembering what the argument had been about.

"No...I'm okay," he said quietly, to which the woman frowned and asked if he was sure only to leave him alone again after he nodded, saying nothing else. He remained there on the couch, his heart hammering painfully in the prison of his ribs, a familiar sharp, agonizing sensation resurfacing. His mind fought relentlessly back and forth. He wanted to stand up, head to the front of the house and tell Levi goodbye before it was too late, but the other half of him was like a weight that kept him seated right where he was. Levi was still mad, he was sure, and as much as he hated to admit it to himself, there was some truth in the words exchanged between them in their last conversation. It was likely Levi didn't even want to say goodbye to him anyway...

The reverberation of a door being shut throughout the walls of the house had him jumping in surprise and his eyes darting in the direction of the door to the sunroom.

The front door...he could already be gone...

That thought alone scared him to his feet and he padded silently into the kitchen. Holding his breath, he peeked around the corner into the foyer where Historia stood and where Levi was just stepping onto the floor at the foot of the stairs to head to the front door, which opened again to reveal Petra. She held it open for him, making sure he was ready as he continued toward her.

Emotions caught in his throat, Eren whipped himself back around and escaped through the sunroom and out into the backyard. He hid himself around the trunk of the tree and slid down to sit on its roots, curling in on himself and hugging his knees, wanting nothing more than to disappear from the face of the earth.

~

The sun had scraped its way a good chunk of the way across the sky before Eren looked up again, hearing the crunch of footsteps in the dark approaching him. He found Historia walking up from the right, a concerned frown set across her pretty face.

"Are you alright, Eren?" she murmured in her sweet soprano. She stopped, keeping her distance, but kneeled down to be at eye-level with him. "I couldn't find you. I was worried."

Eren forced a dry swallow. He was sure she couldn't see the wet trails down his cheeks. "I'm okay," he managed quietly. "S-sorry for worrying you..."

She sent him a sweet smile. "It's okay. Do you wanna come in and have a snack with the others? Marco made peanut butter crackers."

Slowly, he shook his head. His stomach being in knots, he was sure eating wouldn't do him any good now. He wanted to thank her for her offer, but his voice felt like needles, just the way it had back then...